58- 



AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 



should be of a light colour, a very light slate Golour 

 will stand better than dead white, and the last coat 

 should be zinc paint. The bodies will then stand for 

 two years but the covers should be painted every 

 autumn. 



HIVE CRAMP. 



A hive cramp of some kind is absolutely necessary 

 when putting hives together to get the parts firmly in 

 their places, and to hold them true while nailing them, 



Fig. 31. — HOPKINS' HIVE CRAMP. 



so that they may stand a bit of rough handling after- 

 wards without getting out of the square. I don't know 

 of anything better for this purpose than the cramp 

 shown in Fig. 31, and where there are a good few hives 

 to put together it will pay to buy or make one. The 

 end pieces of the hives are placed against the jaws of 

 the cramp, and the side pieces top and bottom ; they 

 are then screwed together and nailed. The platform 

 of the cramp forms a good solid base to nail on, while 

 the top is just high enough for nailing conveniently. 

 The author has had one in use since 1878, and there 

 is one in use at each of the New Zealand Government 

 Apiaries. 



